Famous Writers’ Diaries at the Morgan Library

From Charlotte Brontë to Bob Dylan, a new exhibit at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City gives a glimpse into the innermost thoughts of writers, musicians, and other notable figures. “The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives” presents the private musings of the likes of Tennessee Williams, who confided his loneliness and self-doubt; John Steinbeck, who revealed his struggles composing The Grapes of Wrath; Albert Einstein, who worked out mathematical equations while traveling the world; and Sophia Peabody, who wrote about her marriage to novelist Nathanial Hawthorne. The centerpiece of the exhibit is the seminal journal of naturalist and philosopher Henry David Thoreau, who sought “to meet the facts of life—the vital facts—face to face.”

“The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives” is on view through May 22, 2011.